Medicinal roller



March 27, 1928. 1,664,009

J. H. WEBER MEDICINAL ROLLER Filed May 14, 1925 TORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

,UNITED. STATES riaTau'if OFFICE.

- moon H. whims, or aaooxmni, new roan Y MEDICINAL norm-m;

Application filed H9114, 1925. Serial No. 30,139.

yWithin-the shell, a suitable heating unit'or erage person'witho'ut the services of a skilled attendant.

An object of this invention is to. provide an improved medical appliance by means 0 which anyone may easily and readily obtain all the advantages of 'the hot salt air treatment for various diseases; whichmay be readily and easily manipulated by either the which will be safe and patient or another; convenient to use, efiective in results, and relatively simple, practical and inexpensive.

Various other objects and featureswjll be apparent from the following description of two embodiments ot'the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

'Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a medical .appliance constructed in accordance with the invention; a e i Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same, the section-being taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1;,

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same;

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe drawing a somewhatcylindrical shell 1 of suitable material, such as thin metal, is provided at one 'end witha base 2 and at the other end with a removable closure 3, the latter being locked upon the shell in any suitable manner, .such as by friction, or by means of a pin 4 whichcooperates with a bayonet 'slot 5 in the adjacent end ofthe shell. Among the materials -which have been found advantageous for the 'shell, is

thin sheet aluminum, and the periphery of,

the same is reticulated, that is provided with a large number of small apertures a for a purpose which will appear shortly.

The base 2 and cap 3 are provided with bearing pins or extensions 6 and 7frespec- P which are rotatably mounted in thefork arms Sand 9 of a handle 10, the'pins' 'tively,

6 and 7 projecting axiall of". the shell, so

that theshell may be r0 ed over. a surface by suitable manipulation of; the handle 10.

device 11 is disposed in spaced relation to the walls of the shell, and in the form illustrated, is in the nature of an electric lam or bulb having a filament which. is heated by the passage of an electric current therethrough. The lamp 11 is mounted in a suitable, socket 12 which is carried by theshell base 2, so as to project into the interior of the shell.

The handle 10 and the arms 8 and 9 may be, and preferably are, formed of insulating material, and the arms 8 and 9-thereof carry f spring contacts 13, which are adapted to press upon theends of the pins 6 and 7.

Conductors 14 lead from the contacts 13- and thence as part of a cable 15 to a suitable source of electric current (not shown). The pin 6, which is co-axial with the baseor socket 12, may be insulated from the socket shell and electrically connected to one, of the socket terminalsso 'that current from one of the conductors 14 may pass through one of the spring contacts 13 to the pin 6, and.

thence to one of the socket terminals en-, 1

gaged by the lamp base.

The other terminal of the lam socket may be grounded to the base Qandt e shell, and thence through the pin .7 a circuit is-completed to the other spring contact'13'fand the other conductor 14. The operating current maybe conducted-to the lamp or the heating unit in any'suitable manner, but

the constructiondescribed for this purpose is relatively simple, and'has been found-to be satisfactory whenrelatively low vogtage o t e currents are used for the lighting lamp. A I

The shell is rotatably mounted between similarly; shaped blocks 17, carried by clasp or latch elements 18. The elements 18 are ivoted to the arms 8 and 9, as at 19, sothat the slots 16'. p

' When the elements 18 are swung into pothe blocks 17 may be swung into and out of .95 the fork arms 8 and 9 of the handle in such that it may be readily and easily sitions to close the slots 16, as shown in -full lines in Fig. the pins 6 and 7 will be locked.

' transverse corrugations 22, that is, made un-" within the fork arms and when the.latch elements 18 are swung into the positions \shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 3, the blocks 17 will be carried out of the slots-16,

so as to permit removal of the shell from the fork arms. The latch elements 18' have resilient hook shaped ends 20 which are adapted to snap or spring over the convex ends of I the arms 8 and 9, so as to yieldingly lock the elements iii-the, full line positions for confinin the shell tothe handle.

The s1ellis preferably provided with dulating from end to end, so that when rolled over the irregular surface of a patients body, some of the. corrugations will enter the cavities or depressions in the body of the patient and insure action of the me- ;dicinal substance thereon. The shell is to be filled with a' medicinal substance 21, such as crystal or granular salt, which surrounds the lamp or heating unit 11 and which will be heated thereby while.

the shell is being rotated. The medicinal substance,may be inserted i the shell by first removingthe shell from the handle and then removing the closure 3.

In simpler forms of the appliance, the electric unit may be omitted, and the. shell mounted in the manner shown in the drawings with the contacts 13 and conductors 14 omitted. The shell is filled with hot crystal or granular salt or other medicinal substance, mounted in the handle, and manipulated over the patients body until the medicinal substance has cooled, whereupon the shell may be removed, the medicinal substance reheated and returned, wher'eupon the shell may be replaced and the treatment continued. y

In the embodiment of the. invention as illustrated, it will be observed that .a thinshell having a reticulated or apertured wall and containing a hot medicinal substance, such as crystal or granular salt, maybe rolled over the portion of a patients body to be treated, and the hot salt air, which emerges from the-apertures of the shell wall and contacts with. the" skin of the patients body, will have a medicinal and beneficial effect thereon". This hot salt air, for example, has the effect of reducing inflammation and relieving pain and congestion in cases of neuritis,vrheumatism and" various other diseases. In fact, a patient suffering from such diseases is very much-relieved b treatments with such an appliance, an shows great improvement with repeated use of the appliance. In the illustrated embodiment the medicinalsiibstance' may be kept hot while being used, whereas in a simpler form without the heating unit; it will be necessary at intervals 1 to remove the medicinal substance,-heat it, and return it to the shell By reason of the undulations or corrugations in the shell periphery, the shell may be caused to reach all surface portions of the flesh being treated. For example,'such corrugations are particularly valuable when a the roller is being passed along the spine of the patient, in which case the corrugations enter the normal depressions in the flesh and thus insure the action of the medicinal substance upon all of the patients body being treated.

It Will be obvious that the shell with reticulated periphery, when filled with a medicinal substance such as hot salt, may be rolled over the patients skin without. the use of a handle by merely rolling the roller with ones hand in a well known simple manner.

Obviously the use of the handle is preferable especially where a hot substance is employed in the-shell. a

It will beund'erstood that varipus changes in the details, which'have been herein described and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of the invention, may

be made by those skilled in-the art within the principle and scope of the. invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim 1 .1. A therapeutic device comprising a handle having apertured forked arms, slots in 'aid arms leading to said apertures, and a ollow perforated roller mounted within said arms including a base member, a cap,

tric heating element extending into said roller supported by said base, contacts mounted on said arms contacting with said pins and electrical connections between said pins and said heating element. w 2. A therapeutic device comprising a handle having apertured 'forked arms, slots in said arms leading to said apertures, closures" for. said slots, a hollow perforated pins carried bysaid base and cap, an elecroller' mounted within said arms including a base member and cap, pins carried by said base and cap, an, electric heating element extending into said roller supported by sa d base, contacts mounted on'said arms conpins and electrical connections between said pins and said heating element.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature;

" JACOB H. IVEBER. 

